Kennedy Cellars educating
the wine-loving crowd
p. 21
Celebrating 115
years of flight
p. 14-19
Jennifer Lawrence stars
in new spy thriller
p. 37
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
STUDENT THREAT ADDRESSED
Volume 22 • Issue 10
by Gabe Donio
G azette S taff W riter
HaMMONtON—On febru-
ary 27, Hammonton Superinten-
dent of Schools robin Chieco
issued a letter to all parents of stu-
dents of the Hammonton School
www.hammontongazette.com
Chieco: ‘Student made disturbing statements regarding school safety’
District regarding what the letter
called “a situation where a student
made disturbing statements re-
garding school safety.” according
to Chieco’s letter, Middle School
administrators “addressed a situ-
ation.”
Food truck ord.
appeals OK’d
by Stephen Pistone
G azette S taff W riter
HaMMONtON—at its febru-
ary 26 meeting, council held a sec-
ond reading for Ordinance
#007-2018, which proposed to add
a section (Section 30) to Chapter
204, article iii (“Peddlers, Solici-
Law enforcement was involved
with the situation, the letter said.
Hammonton Police Lt. Kevin
friel commented on the matter
during an interview with The
Gazette on March 5 and said that
while there are not charges at
present, the matter is under inves-
tigation by law enforcement.
“On tuesday, february 27, the
Hammonton Police Department
and the Hammonton School Dis-
trict received information about a
threat at the Hammonton Middle
School from a student who attends
that school. there are not charges
presently. it is under investigation
at this time. We investigate every
instance thoroughly and take
every threat seriously. We do fol-
Pannarello and Sbarra inside police dept.
See SAFETY, Page 2
Council vote
split 4-2
tor and transient Merchants”) of
the town’s general ordinances that
would give council the ability to
decide on requests for relief from
At school district,
attendance is key
by Stephen Pistone
G azette S taff W riter
HaMMONtON—Hammonton
School District officials said the
district operates on a firm belief
that academic success is directly
correlated to consistent attendance.
administrators and teachers at the
See COUNCIL, Page 4
district’s four schools employ a
multifaceted and collaborative ap-
proach to prevent students from
reaching the “chronically absent”
threshold, which the New Jersey
Department of education defines
as students who are not present
(excused or unexcused) for 10 per-
cent or more of the days they were
Kern retires from Arena Buick GMC
See SCHOOL, Page 12
Wm. Richardson is
Waterford mayor
Courtesy Photo
Hammonton Police Corporal John Panarello and Hammonton Police Officer Charles Sbarra III inside the department.
by Stephen Pistone
G azette S taff W riter
The fourth in a series of articles on mayors of
neighboring municipalities.
WaterfOrD tWP.—the Waterford twp.
committee recently selected William a. richard-
son Jr. (r) as its mayor for a fourth consecutive
year, the longest such streak since 1907-1910.
the committee’s decision allows richardson Jr.
HSH, VFW selling
custom paver bricks
See WATERFORD, Page 4
by Stephen Pistone
G azette S taff W riter
Courtesy Photo
Pete Kern retired on February 28 after 20 years of service at Arena’s. He is pictured receiving a plaque for his service
from Joseph Arena Jr. Arena Buick GMC is located on the White Horse Pike (Route 30) in Hammonton.
SUBSCRIBE TO The
HaMMONtON—the Histori-
cal Society of Hammonton (HSH)
and Hammonton’s Veterans of for-
eign Wars (VfW) Passalaqua Post
William Richardson
No. 1026 are both working on sep-
arate brick paver projects that will
serve the dual-purpose of improv-
ing the functionality and aesthetics
of their respective headquarters
while allowing residents to memo-
Gazette • $20 FOR 52 WEEKS • CALL 609-704-1939
See PAVER, Page 3